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Describe something you received for free.: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • What was it?
  • When and from whom did you receive it?
  • How did you feel?
Show all 142 answers

Cue 1:What was it?

  • Begin by clearly stating what the item or service was that you received for free.
  • Provide a brief description of its significance or usefulness to you.

Example

I received a beautiful handmade scarf from my grandmother. It was made from soft wool and had intricate patterns that reflected our cultural heritage.


Cue 2:When and from whom did you receive it?

  • Mention the occasion or event during which you received the item.
  • Specify who gave it to you and their relationship to you.

Example

I received the scarf last winter during my birthday celebration. My grandmother, who is very dear to me, gifted it to me as a surprise.


Cue 3:How did you feel?

  • Share your emotional response upon receiving the gift.
  • Explain why this feeling was significant to you.

Example

I felt incredibly touched and grateful when I received the scarf. It reminded me of the love and care my grandmother puts into everything she makes, making it even more special.


Conclusion

  • Summarize the importance of the gift in your life.
  • Reflect on how receiving this free item impacted your relationship with the giver.

Example

In conclusion, receiving the scarf from my grandmother not only warmed me physically during the cold months but also strengthened our bond. It serves as a constant reminder of her love and our family traditions.


Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.


Tips to answer this Cue Card

1: Giving Vague Answers

Avoid being too general or vague in your response. Specific details make your answer more engaging and memorable. Vague answers can lead to a lack of clarity.

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Tip

Include specific details about the item you received, such as its appearance, purpose, and significance to you.


2: Neglecting Emotional Impact

Failing to express your feelings can make your answer less impactful. Emotions help to connect with the listener and make your story more relatable.

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Tip

Share how receiving the item made you feel at the moment and how it affects you now, using descriptive language.


Ignoring the Context

Not providing context about when and from whom you received the item can leave your answer feeling incomplete. Context adds depth to your story.

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Tip

Clearly explain the situation surrounding the gift, including the occasion and the relationship with the giver.


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IELTS Cue Cards asked last week

Reported by Leap students who gave IELTS

Describe your favourite food at a traditional festival or a special event in your country
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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Pitampura Test Centre, New Delhi

Answer

I like to taste different types of cuisine. Here I would like to talk about my favorite dish at my traditional festival of Onam which is Sadya. Sadya is popular in my city. We are experimenting these cuisines on Onam festival day. Onam is a famous festival in my city. All family members get together in my home and we make a delicious Sadya. There are many ingredients includes that Sadya. Moreover, we make a big feast that day as well as we create a lot of memories together and we wear that day the traditional dress called Sari and men wear the Dhotis. That festival is really important to us because the whole day we are conducting different kinds of games at our homes and all the family members came together. It's a memorable day in my life. This is the festival. We are making the Sambar and Aviyal. These all the kinds of foods are making with the vegetables.

Talk about a toy you liked in your childhood
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 8

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Sector 34 Test Centre, Chandigarh

Answer

The toy which I liked in my childhood was a panda doll, which makes me pleasant and makes me more blush. The pandas are the most beautiful creatures of the world, which looks gigantic and has pooshy cheeks and they are like stars in the clouds and they dream in me. Furthermore, these have been given by my father. My father is a very very beautiful artistic person, who makes me think of that. Every day you will face every difficulties and make you suffer and move forward. Pandas are always seen in Japanese countries. It is my lifelong dream to visit a Japanese country and click a photo with the original pandas, which makes sounds better.

Describe a time you were in a place where you didn't know the local language
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 6.5

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Whitefield Test Center, Bengaluru

Answer

As India is a very large country full of diversity, so there are many places which have their own language and speak their native language. The place which I visited and I didn't know about their language was Leladakh, which is about 300 km away from my hometown and it is a very good place as it consists of different kind of trees, animals and have many scenic views and I visited over there last year in summers as it was the best time to visit because it has many, it was cold over there and we had summers in our area so it was the best time to visit over there and I went over there with my whole family.

Describe a time when your friend damaged something you owned
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7

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Begumpet Test Centre, Hyderabad

Answer

When I was a kid, I had a little pencil box which had these four buttons which gave the pencil box an operative use. When you press the button, the box would open up. When you press the second button, a little part of it would slide out. Basically it was just a little electronical and a fun thing to have and I owned it when I was in 6th. One day after break, I was standing and talking there with one of my friends and another friend of mine was running through the hallway and accidentally she pushed my shoulder and my pencil box hit the ground and it broke into multiple pieces to the point that it was not functional anymore.

Describe a book you recently read
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Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

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CBD Belapur Test Centre, Navi Mumbai

Answer

It Ends With Us is a book I read recently. It's by the author Colleen Hoare. It's mainly a story about two teenagers, Atlas and Lily, and how they just handle their life going through high school, adolescence, and just domestic violence at home. Both of them come from very, very different families. However, they have one common determining factor between them, which is domestic violence. The abuse that they've seen their moms go through is just insane, and they connect through that on a different level. They're actually in the same high school, but they never speak to each other until Atlas actually crashes into an empty house next to Lily's villa. When Atlas is homeless and he doesn't have anywhere to go, he just comes and breaks into the house next to Lily's, and Lily helps him with all the daily necessities like clothes and food, medicines and stuff. Furthermore, their friendship blossoms into love, but it doesn't really fructify as Atlas has to leave. This book really gave me a lot of knowledge about domestic abuse and how to deal with it.

All Answers

Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

Band 7

I am a big fan of BTS, a boy band from South Korea. I was gatekeeping this urge to buy their latest album for a long time. And for my last birthday, which was on November 14th, my husband gifted me their latest album, which felt like a huge surprise. I was head over toes and I was in the cloud nine when I received it because I was, as I was waiting for Seoul so long to buy that album. It had almost every member's signature, a handwritten message and signature that was a cherry on the top, a cherry on the cake. Because if you are a true worshipper or a fan of someone or something and you get something related to it from your close one, it feels really, really special. And that gift made my special day more precious and memorable. I was so happy and grateful for the gift that my husband, which I should mention very clearly because he gifted what I needed the most.

Band 7

Recently, when I had ordered a crocheted sweater, I had received a small sunflower crocheted keychain and I was actually so happy by looking at it and the parcel also came with a note which said that the keychain is made with a leftover yarn which would actually go to waste but it wasn't, they repurposed the yarn and they coloured it again and they made it into these keychains and they were adding these keychains into all the orders and that was so thoughtful of the brand, I was so happy to receive such a cute little gift. I think more brands should take up such initiatives at least in their own manufacturing units and try to curb on such minor wastes and make something so meaningful and they should just give it out in orders, I mean people love all of these things and basically this is a promotion for them as well so many more brands should focus on getting something like this in their mind and actually implementing it.

Band 7

I received a replica of Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night for my 18th birthday. It was gifted by my mother. Upon receiving the gift, I was quite enraptured. I have always looked upon to Vincent van Gogh because I was inspired by his life story. So he suffered from a mental health disorder, experts believe it was bipolar disorder, and he even cut off his ear and showed suicidal tendencies. So it is believed that he looked at the night sky and painted what he found it like. And I resonate with this story quite well because I study psychology and I can relate to the sufferings of individuals with mental health disorders as I read about mental illness quite a bit. And I thank my mother because I was always hoping to hang up a replica of the Starry Night in my own room and yeah I was quite happy and satisfied.

Band 7

Two weeks back, I was gifted a MacBook on my birthday by my life partner. It was a very special gift for me as I had been wanting to buy it for myself for quite some time now. Moreover, it holds multiple benefits like using it for study purposes as well as in the professional work environment. Moreover, this is an expensive item that I was not able to buy earlier but when I had received it, it made me feel very ecstatic. It gave me a feeling of value, worth and helpful for my day-to-day operations. MacBook has various versions but the one that I had received was the latest one that was launched three weeks back and hence I would say it was very beneficial for me.

Band 7

Recently, on September 18, 2025, I turned into 22 years. It was my birthday. I received a photo frame as a gift from my friends. These friends stood up with me in my all difficult times, from the beginning till the end. We became friends from the first year and continued our friendship till the final year. On my birthday, everyone contributed and gifted me a photo frame of each of our memorable events. In that, each photo depicts the memories that I had along with them in these journeys. It was so memorable and fun. These were the best things that I received from a long time. I think the only thing I miss is that I'll be not able to spend more time with them. It gives me joy to have such kind of friends who have gifted me a present with which I can forever cherish my memories. I felt tremendous happiness when I received the gift for the first time and it felt really nice and I had tears of happiness. I wish that I will always protect this and cherish the gift given by them and will always look forward about it. And the best thing is that I can carry the photo frame wherever I want. This also shows the respect and love my friends have towards me and the connection we have born. I feel that this friendship always stays and will last longer because friends made with love are always precious and stay forever. I hope that everyone gets friends like I have and I would really appreciate and stay

Band 7

Recently, I received a gift from my best friend who visited Vietnam last month. He brought lots of souvenirs from there and decided to gift me a water bottle. It was a very unique water bottle. Additionally, it was very handy, compact and useful. I am using it for going to the gym as well as everyday usage. Furthermore, the bottle is very artistic in nature and made from eco-friendly environments. In addition to that, this bottle had a reminder to drink water after every 2 hours, so it helped me to stay hydrated throughout the day. I really enjoyed using it and I felt really grateful to my friend for bringing it and gifting it to me. It means a lot to me. Also, he engraved my name i.e Meet Mehta on the water bottle, so it was a very special and customized gift for me. It was very thoughtful of him to think about that. It is said that as every coin has its two sides, so the one side is he brought a gift for me and the second side will be I will also gift him something when I travel or see something very enticing.

Band 7

I would like to talk about a useful item that I received for free a few months ago. It was a pair of high quality earphones that I got a gift when I purchased a new mobile. The store was running a special offer when there was giving free accessories along with certain models. I wasn't expecting anything extra. So when this sales person handed me the earphones, I was quite surprised and happy. There were wireless buds from a well known brand and the brand quality was really impressive. Usually such earphones are quite expensive. So getting them for free felt like a great deal. When I reached home, I tried them immediately and the sound quality was excellent. They had a strong bass, clear vocals and also noise cancellation which made the listening experience very smooth. I use them almost everyday now. Whether I am travelling, going for a walk or watching videos, they are very comfortable and the battery life lasts for many hours. Receiving these earphones for free made me realize how promotional offers can add values to purchase. It was unexpected but it turns out to be extremely useful. In fact, sometimes feel the free earphones were just as exciting as the phone itself. Overall this free item was memorable because it was practical, high quality and something I still use daily. It definitely made my shopping experience more satisfying.

Band 7

I received a gift from my college friend for my 21st birthday. She had gifted me a stuffed toy. And the reason she gifted me that is because I'm not a person who's been seen with a stuffed toy when a lot of people in my college had one. Almost everyone had one. Moreover, she knows I have this habit of cuddling and sleeping. So she thought that would be a very thoughtful gift for me. And another specification of this gift is that it was an elephant. I had once mentioned how elephant is my favorite animal because it's huge and calm and gentle. And that's a gift that I would always cherish. And I still do.

Band 7

Firstly, the gift that I had received was a handmade photo frame. I received it from my girlfriend three years ago. It was on Valentine's Day when she came to my home and she handed me this gift. When she gave it to me, I was overjoyed. I was a bit overwhelmed because I do not usually receive many gifts. It was also during the first few months of our relationship, so I was not expecting anything. But this gesture from her really touched my heart and I could not express how I felt in that moment. But I have thanked her many times later. This gift is very special to me and it's still in my room. I have hung it up for everyone to see and I have put a photo of us together inside it. That photo was taken near Christmas and I love that photo. Under the frame that she built very meticulously, very carefully with her hands, I think she could not have given me a better gift. Moreover, I think the amount of effort that she put into it is what makes it so special for me. I cannot imagine what she must have felt when she saw the look of joy on my face when I received that gift. And it was an incredible moment for me as well.

Band 7

When I was 12, I received a packet of face towels one Christmas. At first I was pretty disappointed but then soon after a few weeks of using those face towels I realized that this was one of the most useful gifts I had gotten this whole year. I was pretty happy by the end of two months after using those face towels continuously for everything and that day I learned an important lesson of how a gift should be more of convenience and usefulness in terms rather than aesthetics.

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